This probably shouldn't be so hard. I mean, this isn't the first time. Nowhere near the hundreth time. You've done this before. You can do this again.
Despite there being no lock on the front door, opening it wasn't an easy thing for Sarah to accomplish as she stood on the doorstep of her now repaired home. Feeling the support of Piper by her side, she finally took in a deep breath and pushed it open, stepping inside for the first time since she'd left Sanctuary Hills to find answers. And I found so much more than that. I found her.
Sarah didn't spend much time previously in the ruins of her home, not compared to the time before the bombs dropped. But yet her mind did not travel and compare to that period of time over two hundred years ago, simply it remembered the last time she was here, before she made her choice to fight on. Her eyes were drawn to everything, wanting to take it all in at once. The kitchen countertops in front of her were clean, almost as shiny to the day that she had picked them out. The floor, previously littered with debris, was clear, with a new rug laid down over a scorch mark on the floor. The couch had been stitched up where it had been damaged and almost looked as good as new, despite everything that it had been through over the years.
As she made her way through the house, Sarah didn't speak with her words, but the emotion on her face was plain to see. Piper was silent too as she followed by her side, trying not to impose on a matter that was deeply personal to Sarah. She had considered staying in the doorway and waiting to be given the okay to proceed, but Sarah had squashed any thoughts of that and quickly took her by the hand. Piper wasn't quite dragged, but she quickly realised that the homeowner didn't want Sarah leaving her side as she wordlessly gave the reporter her first tour.
The crib in Shaun's room had been repaired. Sarah stared at it for a moment, her eyes starting to well up before she shook her head and turned to walk to the bedroom. Piper's glanced lingered on the crib before she turned a moment later, joining Sarah in the bedroom.
The bed was new, with a hand built wooden frame. It was definitely a step up from what Sturges was working on for himself. The mattress looked firm and thankfully, clean. Two pillows lay carefully at the top of the bed, a large blanket sitting folded at the bottom. Sarah glanced towards where her windows used to be, now boarded up. It was only then that it struck her.
There's light.. everywhere! How.. where..
"Hey, lights!" Sarah stuck her head out of the door. She spoke in genuine wonder. The entire house was wired with them. "I didn't even notice at first." She blushed, embarrassed at her shock of lighting being the first words she said out loud since entering.
Piper smiled softly, trying to ease the heat rushing to Sarah's cheeks. "There's a generator switch in the main room. My guess is it controls everything. Probably a house on, or off, situation, Blue. But still, it's more than a lot of places have."
"Yeah." Sarah spoke softly. "I wonder where they.. they shouldn't have, really. It's too much."
"Hey now." Piper pulled her close. Sarah stopped gazing and instead stared at the woman in front of her. "You heard what they said. One day soon, you're probably going to have to accept the truth that all these folk are saying about you."
Sarah smiled softly, it was more of embarrassment than anything else. "I don't think I'll ever be able to do that, Piper."
Piper softly stroked Sarah's cheek. "You wouldn't be you if you did. Still, I have enough of an ego for the both of us."
Sarah laughed. "That's true. I'm glad you're able to pick up the slack in that department." She yawned, trying to stifle it, but was clearly unsuccessful.
"My oh my, now that's an attractive face." Piper prodded her softly with a cheeky grin. "You need to get some sleep." Piper's voice softened, all humour drifting away. "You've got a big day ahead of you tomorrow."
Her companion nodded. "You're right. I-" Sarah frowned slightly. "Is it weird that I want to ask you to sleep close? I mean, we've shared a bed before, but not since, well, you know and-" Sarah blushed. "Why am I making such a hash of this?"
Piper grinned again. "I don't know, but it's pretty damn cute I tell ya, Blue. Besides, you don't ever need to ask. If I recall from Diamond City, you wanted to get close to me back then!"
"Er." Sarah held up a hand to correct her. "Actually. You're the one who snuggled up to me, Piper. Before Nat found us and all. Being such a fancy reporter, you seriously need to sort your facts out. Can't have errors like that leaking into your headlines."
"Pah! I dispute that claim. I have a pristine fact checking record, thank you very much. And Nat certainly doesn't say the same thing as you." Piper rolled her eyes. "But if you don't want it, well-"
Sarah was quick to prove otherwise. She launched at the reporter, colliding their lips and cutting her off as Piper welcomed her advances, replying passionately as she griped Sarah tightly. They toppled onto the bed, each giggling as they broke apart with Sarah slightly pinning Piper to the bed from above.
"Proved my point, Pipes?" Sarah grinned down at the woman.
"Maybe." Piper licked her lips softly. Her breath was ragged as it tried to catch up. "And now?"
Sarah could sense Piper's hunger, but equally, her apprehension. She felt it too. Neither had ever been in a situation such as this before. It was completely new territory, and such a new development that both were fearful about moving to fast.
"And now." Sarah adjusted Piper and herself so she could spoon the reporter from behind. She whispered closely to Piper's ear, feeling the shiver that came her way. "I get my revenge."
Piper let out a breath. "For future reference, Blue. That? Yes. I approve."
Sarah grinned. "Good to know." She pulled Piper closer, feeling her melt into her touch. She didn't know if Piper had ever been held in such a way, but she seemed to approve non-the-less. Sarah's hand rested on Piper's stomach softly before slipping slightly under her shirt to feel Piper's soft skin on her fingertips. Piper shuddered slightly at the cold touch, but quickly relaxed, enjoying the feel of her rested hand on her skin. Sarah gazed down Piper's body, really noting it in such a way for the first time. She bit her lip. "Have I ever told you what a great ass you have?"
Piper barked out a laugh. Sarah felt the laughter as it rocked against her body. It filled her with warmth. "Gee, Blue. Blunt much? And no, no you haven't. I've kinda been waiting to hear that you know. Won plenty of awards in Diamond City for it. Kinda upset it took you so long to notice."
"Award winning journalist and an award winning butt? How did I get so lucky?"
"Well," Piper shrugged slightly. "I've never been awarded for my journalism. Unless you count death threats. Actually, I do, scratch that. I've received over a hundred rewards!" She wiggled her ass slightly, knowing that Sarah could feel it. "You just wait until you see it without all the layers."
This time it was Sarah's turn to laugh. "Now who's being frank, Piper?"
"Don't pretend you don't love it. 'Course, you gotta be work for it. Save a few more settlements, rescue a few more brahmins outta trees, save Diamond City from super-mutants-"
"I've already done that last one?" Sarah pointed out. "That counts, right?"
"Mm." Piper pondered it. "Okay, sure. I'll count it. Best get cracking on climbing those tree's. Trust me, it's worth the effort."
"Oh I don't doubt it." Sarah smiled. She was glad that Piper was on the same wavelength. Their humour had gelled from the start, and was easily accessible, especially in their new situation. It's true that both were eager to see where things would go from here, but were both equally as cautious. "You ever seen a brahmin stuck in a tree before?"
Piper yawned. "All the time, Blue. All the time. C'mon now, I won't make it impossible for you."
"You're too kind, Piper." Sarah couldn't hold back a yawn of her own. "At least I know what I'll be dreaming of now."
Piper's eyes lit up as she turned slightly to meet the Sarah's gaze. "You dream of running wild through the fields as a brahmin too?"
Sarah grinned. "Who doesn't?" She leaned in and softly kissed Piper's lips before they returned to their comfortable spooning position. It wasn't long before both of their eyes closed as they drifted off to sleep, together and united.
Little interlude here. The next chapter is quite an emotional outing, so I'm trying to get it just right. This was supposed to be part of it, but I extended it and am putting this out now to give you all a little something at least! Thanks for sticking by me with this. I know there's long gaps and all between updates. But I'm trying to get things moving!
Talking of getting things moving - I haven't decided yet about future, well, fluffy stuff. Piper and Sarah - they're going to get closer. And originally when planning out this story in my head, I was going to bump up the rating to M for strong sexual content. Now - this isn't a given, as I said, I'm yet to decide on what to do. What would you prefer? I'll definitely take feedback in mind when it comes to it. One thing's for sure - I won't be writing paragraphs upon paragraphs of erotic fiction, just isn't my thing. It'll be along the same tone set in this story. The scenes would simply shift given the rating - if it stays at T, the scenes will leave more things as an unspoken sort of thing, you know how it is. If it's bumped up, it'll be graphic and honest, just you know, not six paragraphs long.